News Summary

The European Union has imposed a €2.95 billion fine on Google for breaching the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own advertising services over those of rivals. This decision marks the fourth antitrust penalty for Google, as the European Commission found that the company had engaged in ‘self-preferencing practices’ within the ad-tech sector. The Commission ordered Google to end these practices and implement measures to address conflicts of interest in the ad-tech supply chain. The fine is a result of a formal investigation launched in June 2021, which concluded that Google’s practices were detrimental to competition in the online advertising market. Google has announced plans to appeal the decision, arguing that the imposed changes would harm European businesses.